If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Comment

Looks like sub 1K price and March release. I was looking at a X32 rack but no more. I love the Soundcraft software.

Yes, the software reminds me in a way of the AirFader software I use with my 01v96. If all the earlier problems are worked out that was in the first release with the older models then it will be a nice fit. 20 channels does a lot of small bar band type shows. About the size of an average stage box. Doug

Comment

Well they have dual band wifi. Power supply is internal now (no wall wart) with earth ground IEC. It appears to have a video output on it. I saw a pic of it with a swivel mount with a screen and a direct connect to the device. Studer (Revox?) pre amps. Looks like they improved the software interface as well.

1 like

Comment

Well they have dual band wifi. Power supply is internal now (no wall wart) with earth ground IEC. It appears to have a video output on it. I saw a pic of it with a swivel mount with a screen and a direct connect to the device. Studer (Revox?) pre amps. Looks like they improved the software interface as well.

Yes, The only other issue was hiss in the preamps. I would guess this is why the Studer preamps are mentioned. Time will tell. Looks like its much better than an Xair 18 and maybe even a X32 rack.
Waiting for the release and reviews.
Doug

Comment

I have compared many digital mixers over the last few years. In my endeavors I have found the following:

All of the latest mid range digital mixers have great sound. A very good sounding mix can be made on any of them IMO and the small differences between them comes down to either taste, or it is so insubstantial that it makes little difference.

Support infrastructure, price, and work-flow are the deciding factors when choosing among the top mid range mixers.

I wouldn't want to be one of the first using the new Ui24. Considering their hardware issues with the older Ui mixers, I would take a "wait and see" approach.

This is my overview of my opinion of the existing crop of compact digital mixers:

Ui24

Pro's

Sure looks good on paper.

Great GUI application

20 XLR inputs

Integrated 802.11n 5Ghz radio (far superior to existing crop of 2.4Ghz radios in other products)

Con's

It isn't out for review in the wild

No off-line editor

No channel expansion through another stage box

No external IEM mix station capabilities (other than the phone app)

Limited routing capabilities

Limited functions on the channel processing

No matrix mixes

My summation of the Ui24 is that it is a good mixer for a band mixing from stage. It is particularly easy to operate which may be important coming from an analog mixer. At the 1K price point, it has some steep competition.

Qu-SB

Pro's

Its Allen and Heath .... which means most of the work flow will be familiar to MixWiz owners for the most part

It is the most prolific digital mixer in history. Everyone knows how to use it

23 total inputs

Expandable to 38 inputs with a stage box

Ability to use P16m remote IEM mix stations

Off-line editor (allows you to setup without your mixer present and save scenes/shows)

6 matrix mixes (alternate mixes to be sent to other rooms, other sets of speakers, video recording, etc)

Includes a physical interface for operation if needed

Most comprehensive set of features available in this price range

Con's

No direct to disk multi-track recording (you need a separate computer to do multi-track)

No integrated wireless (you have to use your own)

Android and iOS app have different work flows

Only 16 XLR Inputs compared to the Ui's 20

To be fair, I own the X32 Rack and have only played around on the other 2 mixers (have friends that own them .... well, the Ui16 vs Ui24). At the end of 2013,

If I were to be making the decision today, I might well wait and see how the Ui24 does. The direct-to-disk recording would have me thinking real seriously about how much I would use this feature vs the plethora of features the X32 has that the Ui does not.

I can tell you that I thought I would never use all the features of the X32 Rack, but I have used practically every aspect of it now. Sure, I could have gotten by without some of the more advanced features, but I am so glad I don't have to.

My existing monitor solution is an old Furman HDS wired IEM system. As those die, I am committed to moving over to the P16m local mix stations which gives each band member 16 inputs of their choosing to mix to their own taste (including main out and any bus). If I ever have need of more than 23 inputs, I can go rent a Behringer or Midas stage box from any number of sound companies in the area for the night to bring my channel count up to 38. When I have a big venue that provides a mix engineer for FOH (only happens a couple of times a year btw), they are all so familiar with the Behringer X32 work flow that I simply mail them my scene file and all is well.

Just some things to think about.

With Greater Knowledge Comes Greater Understanding

Comment

I've been looking at digitals for quite a while and the one feature that I wanted years ago was a HDMI output. A decent 22" touchscreen monitor is down to less than $300. I'm old! I'll admit that seeing things on even a 15" monitor is tough. The soundcraft has my eye! Pun intended.

Comment

Do you think they will come out with same features on a 16 or 14 channel model? I seldom need more than 12 channels and this box seems like what I'm looking for. I know they have the older models but built in 2 band wifi and HDMI interface would make my day. I was hoping the midas version of xr18 would be a serious improvement but basically its the same thing with better preamps that I'm not sure I would notice much in a live sound situation.

Dan Snyder is bad Karma

Comment

I have a Ui24R coming today I couldn't resist. The stage box style mixers are a great solution for what I do and this one has significantly more capabilities than the Behringer X-Air series. The connection concerns are also handled with, not only a dual band wifi, but also the ability to connect a simple touchscreen monitor directly to the mixer's HDMI output for an inexpensive, quick, and no nonsense, direct control surface. It's also nice that other band members can access their monitor mixes via a browser based setup so no screwing around with apps. If what you have has a browser you should be good to go.

The only thing I look to be giving up is the number of efx/processing. I like the idea of all that stuff, but in practice I couldn't really fine tune things much and often found it sounded better without some of it.

Comment

Granted I only have 1 day with the Ui24r, but I don't agree with a few of the bullet point "cons" you've listed.

- No matrix mixes - Actually, all 8 auxes can be routed as matrix mixes

- Limited functions on channel processing - Having owned the Qu-16 until this past Tues, I can say the channel processing on the Ui24r may actually be a bit better. It has a de-esser that the Qu-16 lacks.

- Limited routing - Maybe, but with matrix, VCA and subgroups it's far from basic and better than the Qu-16.

Comment

Thanks for sharing on this abzurd. My friend is buying the UI24 and selling me his UI16. I have mixed on the 16 several times and really like the browser based app. I also own a Touchmix16 and had this been out when I bought that, I most likely would have gone with UI. For throw and go gigs the kind of boards work for me.

Comment

Granted I only have 1 day with the Ui24r, but I don't agree with a few of the bullet point "cons" you've listed.

- No matrix mixes - Actually, all 8 auxes can be routed as matrix mixes

- Limited functions on channel processing - Having owned the Qu-16 until this past Tues, I can say the channel processing on the Ui24r may actually be a bit better. It has a de-esser that the Qu-16 lacks.

- Limited routing - Maybe, but with matrix, VCA and subgroups it's far from basic and better than the Qu-16.

Hi abzurd,

Thanks for the update!

For me, the biggest advantages I can see from the Ui24r over the XR 18 are:

It still lacks an integrated IEM solution like both the Qu, X32 and XR mixers enjoy. It also lacks stage box expansion which the X32 mixers have. Now, granted, many of us do not need these things.

The comparison to the XR mixer is also a bit of a mismatch. It is more priced against the X32 Rack and Qu SB mixers.

I am also not sure that having aux mixes can be classified as "matrix mixes". Matrix mixes are mixes of other busses (which are already a mix of sends from inputs). I use mine for 2 reasons. The first is that my IEM inputs can get too hot from the main mix outputs if many of the sliders get pushed too high at a gig. I use one matrix simply as an attenuator on the L/R output before it goes into the IEM transmitter. The 2nd use I have is that we have one venue that has their own PA system in the house, but only has a single mono input. There are no speakers close to stage and the sub woofer is in the ceiling (and lacks punch). As a result we use one stack of our own speakers and provide a matrix mix to the house so I can use a separate slider to control the output to the house speaker zone as compared to our own FOH zone. It still has an input of the L/R mix, but has a separate gain, and a separate 6 band PEQ to accommodate their speaker system (which is very muddy without considerable tweaking).

That is not to say that one could not get along without matrix mixes. Most people don't even know what they are rather on have any use for them.

The thing I DO have a use for and don't have (yet) is built in multi-track direct to disk recording and playback. Behringer is supposed to be working on this now, so we will see how long I have to go without In addition to this, as you so correctly point out, the ability to have an integrated play-list functionality built into the mixer is a huge advantage. I am sure that like me, you have break music setup for many venues that you play between sets .... or just to DJ an event or two every now and then.... or to play certain key songs at weddings (cha cha slide anyone?).

Since my band uses all IEM's, we rarely have any feedback issues. For those that use wedges though, I can see having integrated AFS as being a big bonus.

I would be curious on your take on the verbs vs your XR mixer (assuming you still have it?) compared to the Lexicon verbs in the Ui24r. On my X32 Rack, I have found the plate verb to be quite good, but different than a good Lexicon. I have heard from people that have compared the X32 verbs to the best Eventide units out there.... which is a pretty big endorsement. I know that the X32 verbs compared very favorably against my old TC M-One XL which I always thought was very good as well.

You are my inspiration. I can always tell my wife that there are people out there with more GAS than me